Autumn...

It's here. My favourite time of year. A time when everything seems to be changing.

It's been a long weekend. Long, in the sense of 'I've had mroe than just Saturday and Sunday off.' Long in so many ways...

There's a huge pile of CDs to be reviewed, Glasvegas' debut didn't get to no.1 and I'm frazzled. But hey...

Ash, one of Mrs. 17 Seconds' favourite bands, released this track ten years ago on their Nu-Clear Sounds LP. To me, it sounds like autumn. It was never a single, at least in the UK, but hearing it again reminds me of how much has changed in that time, and how much is, thankfully, still the same.

Ash - Folk Song.' mp3

Abba - a shameless attempt to drive up traffic

This post is born out of a few things I suppose.

Firstly, last week Mrs. 17 Seconds and I and our good friend 'Diamond' Dave went to see Mamma Mia! at the cinema. Resistance, as even Philip French of the Observer had warned, was inded futile. It was fun. Sure it wasn't Citizen Kane or Withnail and I, they'd crowbarred songs in at every opportunity and I can sing far better than Pierce Brosnan, but it was a laugh. Diamond and I were the only blokes in a very packed cinema. Say what you like about stereotypes, pigeonholes and generalisations, but remember that they may well be born out of demographics.

I mentioned this to two friends I met up with in Edinburgh yesterday, one of whom is a massive fan. I asked what he thought of Mamma Mia!, to which he replied that he didn't think there'd been many good cover versions of Abba songs over the years and couldn't face it. I know they have been massacred at way too many karaoke bars over the years, but there have been a few. I've selected two, one by Ash and Scotland's very own Camera Obscura, and two great Abba songs: one which is in the film 'The Winner Takes It All' my favourite Abba song, and 'The Visitors.' 'The Visitors' was the title track of what would be their final studio LP, and deals with the treatment of dissidents in the then Soviet Union.

If there are any people sad enough to worry about liking Abba, I would make these points:
1. John Peel narrated a documentary and was a fan.
2. So was Kurt Cobain, who agreed to play Reading in 1992 because Bjorn Again were, and recorded Nevermind in a studios because it was a seventies sort of studio that Abba would have used.
3. 'The Winner Takes It All' and quite a few other songs are just as sad as Joy Division.
4. they were brilliant. period. Sod the claims about camp, kitsch blah blah sodding blah, they made great music. Like Sonic Youth, the Clash, Public Enemy etc..

Abba -'The Winner Takes It All.' mp3

Abba -'The Visitors.' mp3

And those covers...

Camera Obscura -'Super Trouper.' mp3

Ash -'Does your Mother Know? (session).' mp3

Cover versions from the 7"s...

...Just what it says on the tin. So as to keep up the covers posts but make sure I was posting stuff I hadn't posted before, these are tracks I've ripped from the b-sides of 7"s in my collection.

First up, Eddy Grant was in the Equals in the late sixties, a mixed-race British reggae band when this was quite a radical concept. They reached no.1 with the song 'Baby Come Back' later taken back to no.1 in 1994 by Pato Banton and and the Campbell Brothers from those 'Kings' of the reggae cover version, UB40. One of the Equals' other well-known songs 'Police On My Back' was covered by The Clash in the 1970s. Last year Grime or Grindie (Grime and Indie, DO keep up) Lethal Bizzle (above) covered the song, including a sample of the Clash's version.

Lethal Bizzle -'Police On My Back (Equals cover).' mp3

'What A Waster' was the world's introduction to the talents of Pete Doherty and the Libertines. Moldy peach Adam Green covered it on the b-sides of one of his solo singles 'Emily.' Pete Doherty returned the compliment by covering the Moldy Peaches' 'Who's Got The Crack?'

Adam Green -'What a Waster (Libertines cover).' mp3

This song was originally by X-Ray Spex, and Scottish indie-poppers Bis covered it on the b-side of their 1998 7" 'Action And Drama.'

Bis -'Germ-Free Adolescents (X-Ray Spex cover).' mp3

Atomic Kitten were or are a fairly irritating all-girl band in the early part of the decade, but the Sick Anchors saw the potential of this Andy McLusky (Orchestral Manoeuvres In the Dark) number and turned it into something quite heartbreaking.
The Sick Anchors were Aidan Moffat (of Arab Strap), Stuart Braithwaite of Mogwai and Colin 'Sheepy' McPherson. This EP also included their version of The Fall's Bill Is Dead.'

Sick Anchors -'Whole Again (Atomic Kitten cover).' mp3

In my humble opinion, Placebo's finest moment to date in their decade-plus long career is the single 'The Bitter End.' This was the b-side to the 7" single , a cover of Boney M's 'Daddy Cool.' Whatever that might sound like down on paper, it works really well, IMHO:

Placebo -'Daddy Cool.' mp3

The Wedding Present famously released 12 7" singles, one a month in 1992. The August single was Boing! They all featured a cover version on the b-side, and that month's was Isaac Hayes' Theme from Shaft.

Wedding Present - Theme From Shaft (Isaac Hayes cover).' mp3

Ash have done some fine covers over the years, including their version of Abba's 'Does Your Mother Know?' This song, a cover of John Lennon's 'Give Me Some Truth' was the third track on the 1995 7" 'Angel Interceptor.'

Ash -'Give Me Some Truth (John Lennon cover).' mp3

BONUS: Finally not an mp3 of any of the 7"s in my collection, but an m4a (will play in iTunes) of the Jesus and Mary Chain covering Syd Barrett's Vegetable Man (THANK YOU, BEN!):

Jesus and Mary Chain - 'Vegetable Man.' mp3

A Song For September

I have done a few posts on albums I consider to be underrated classics. I have to be honest that I do not think Ash's Nu-Clear Sounds is either, but there are a couple of great tracks on the album.

So, given that this is the great 'lost' Ash song as far as I am concerned, I give you:

Ash -'Folk Song.' mp3

And the lead-off single from the album:

Ash- 'Jesus Says.' mp3

You can probably pick up this album very cheaply from somewhere. And it's worth it for these two tracks.

just to whet your appetite, I have come back this evening from interviewing none other than Emma Pollock, so keep your eye on this blog!

Not to mention interviews with Katie Sutherland, The Amateurs and Penny Century...

A few songs for the soon to be Mrs. 17 Seconds

Well, in two days time we'll be getting married. The future in-laws have arrived in Edinburgh, my folks are arriving later and we're both excited and nervous.

Anyway, this post is dedicated to the soon to be Mrs. 17 Seconds.

Ash-'Does Your Mother Know?' mp3

Cooper Temple Clause-'Let's Kill Music.' mp3

Cure-'Close To me.' mp3

Low-'California.' mp3

Rob Dougan -'Clubbed To Death.' mp3

Scritti Politti-'The 'Sweetest Girl'.' mp3

As always, if you liek what you hear, support the artists involved. And a hello to Robin, who I went record shopiing with yesterday and said he was still waiting for a shoutout on this blog!

Some Covers For Monday

The photo above is one of the stock photos on my computer. It may be July now, but in Scotland it is still raining and still cold. Grrr. Or should that read Brrr?

Anyway. Here are some cover versions for Monday. These tracks were originally recorded for Radio 1, Some on a compilation called Evening Session Priority Tunes and the rest are from a compilation called Radio 1's Live Lounge.

Oh, and in case anyone wants to pick on the spelling of the Nirvana cover, that's what it says on the sleeve...

Manic Street Preachers-'Penny Royalty.' mp3

China Drum-'Wuthering Heights.' mp3

Ash-'Does Your Mother Know.' mp3

Arctic Monkeys-'Love Machine.' mp3

The Automatic-'Gold Digger.' mp3

Boy Kill Boy-'Maneater.' mp3

Franz Ferdinand-'What You Waiting For?' mp3

If you like what you hear, track down the compilations, be it at your local independent record store, or buy on-line or at Amazon

As always, these will be up here for a week. Get them while you can.